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HBO has the largest budget for boxing of any television executive, this network had the largest audience. Those factors give the president great power and influence in the industry. According some colomnists, Hershman was not personally dynamic and isn't one to get out and promote HBO's fights or other boxing offers. But Nelson is like a 21st century Lou DiBella (without the zaniness) in that he is a Harvard graduate with a facile mind, a keen understanding of the boxing business and a feel for what works on television. He's now HBO's go-to guy in terms of buying fights.
HBO believes Nelson understand how the market is currently transforming. Because, it's only a matter of time before Spike TV, Fox, NBC, NBC Sports, CBS and possibly ESPN/ABC begin purchasing boxing programming from PBC rather than PBC purchasing airtime from those networks. When that day comes, the hardline negotiating tactics of HBO under Hershman era, will be far less appealing than it appears to be now. Hershman famously banned Golden Boy Promotions fighters from HBO because of its close affiliation with PBC creator Al Haymon. Nelson told Yahoo Sports on 12/01/2015 he is open to working with all promoters " Our commitment right now is to boxing".
On 11/28/2015, WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson said on a Showtime broadcast that he met in person in Quebec City with IBF/WBA/WBO champion Sergey Kovalev about a fight in June. That has been a fight that fans have wanted for a long time. But over the years the battle over which network would air the fight often meant that it didn't happen at all. It is vital for Nelson to fix that, and he said he is confident he can. He's not necessarily open to sharing fights with another network unless it is a significant pay-per-view bout. But, in this situation, what we're committed to is seeing Sergey Kovalev's career arc go in the deepest, richest direction it can. To that end, the fights that can get made that are going to be of greatest adversity for him and greatest challenge to him, those are the types of fights he wants.
"So to the extent that Sergey Kovalev is saying, 'Let's get this fight made,' that's the extent to which we're rallying behind it and will try to make it happen."
With Nelson in charge at least HBO has someone that can start a clean slate with Haymon. HBO would buy fights in a manner that they always have, however, HBO would only buy significant fights, the kind of significant fights that PBC needs to showcase on free TV. Because Nelson has been put in place so that pieces can begin to move.
I think HBO allows this fight to take place. Pointless rematches and huge mismatches are not going to grow Kov's brand.
Most people think Kov beats Stevenson (I don't) so the risk, on the surface, is minimal.
If Haymon affiliated promoters outbid HBO, Kov should man up and go fight, just like Wlad did when the Russians won the bid for the Povetkin fight.
HBO has Ward Koavalev on the horizon, they're not gonna bend over backwards for PBC to air this fight that's for sure. Kovalev loses and the Ward fight loses its luster. It's gonna be HBO or nothing.
no it isn't. HBO can decide not to approve at ANY point. You know this. Same way Duva asked to be mando, then decided she didn't want it.
are you serious?????
HBO saying they wont buy the fight is EXACTLY the same thing as not approving the opponent.
my god you just argue for the sake of arguing. Either that or your brain simply does not function properly.
#4 is the same as #1. All they have to say is they wont buy it. It doesnt matter why not
no it isn't. HBO can decide not to approve at ANY point. You know this. Same way Duva asked to be mando, then decided she didn't want it.
You are leaving out #4-HBO tells Duva they do not approve of Stevenson as an opponent.
You can't keep glossing over and minimizing this fact. You make fair and valid points, but the problem is above. Everything could happen the way you listed it then HBO can decide after the bid is won that they don't approve of the opponent for whatever reason.
#4 is the same as #1. All they have to say is they wont buy it. It doesnt matter why not
Easy
Duva goes to HBO and says "what rights fee will you pay me for Kov-Stevenson?" One of 3 things then happens:
1. HBO says they have no interest in buying the fight. Then the fight is a dead issue at that point
2. HBO gives a number Duva can live with
3. HBO gives Duva a low number, but is wiling to offer certain guarantees if they do it on HBO PPV
If HBO's answer is #2 or #3, Duva then takes those numbers and combines it with what she thinks the fight would get from the live gate, canadian rights, overseas rights, advertisers, etc, etc and comes up with the number she is comfortable bidding at the purse bid.
If she wins the bid, she gets the date from HBO and does the fight.
If she loses the bid, and HBO wont let Kov fight off HBO, then she walks away, and Kov fights someone else on HBO
and as for the "HBO is a promoter", there is definitely an argument to be made. The difference is that they are technically a content buyer, choosing which fights to buy, and which ones not to buy. They dont profit from the event itself. The exclusive nature of their contract does pose a problem though, and puts them in a gray area where I dont think they could be classified as a promoter, but they are definitely more than just a content buyer.
You are leaving out #4-HBO tells Duva they do not approve of Stevenson as an opponent.
You can't keep glossing over and minimizing this fact. You make fair and valid points, but the problem is above. Everything could happen the way you listed it then HBO can decide after the bid is won that they don't approve of the opponent for whatever reason.
It's not, it's just that you think she controls those things when its clearly HBO that does.
Kathy can't make a Kov fight without HBO's approval anymore than a Haymon managed fighter can. When Haymon exercises this control you call him the "defacto promoter" HBO exerts the exact same control when "approving" an opponent.
SO I'm confused how you see it differently.
Easy
Duva goes to HBO and says "what rights fee will you pay me for Kov-Stevenson?" One of 3 things then happens:
1. HBO says they have no interest in buying the fight. Then the fight is a dead issue at that point
2. HBO gives a number Duva can live with
3. HBO gives Duva a low number, but is wiling to offer certain guarantees if they do it on HBO PPV
If HBO's answer is #2 or #3, Duva then takes those numbers and combines it with what she thinks the fight would get from the live gate, canadian rights, overseas rights, advertisers, etc, etc and comes up with the number she is comfortable bidding at the purse bid.
If she wins the bid, she gets the date from HBO and does the fight.
If she loses the bid, and HBO wont let Kov fight off HBO, then she walks away, and Kov fights someone else on HBO
and as for the "HBO is a promoter", there is definitely an argument to be made. The difference is that they are technically a content buyer, choosing which fights to buy, and which ones not to buy. They dont profit from the event itself. The exclusive nature of their contract does pose a problem though, and puts them in a gray area where I dont think they could be classified as a promoter, but they are definitely more than just a content buyer.
and NONE of that would prevent her from participating in the bid.
If she wins the bid, SHE decides date and venue, and does the fight on HBO
If she loses the bid, she says "uhmmm, no thanks" and walks away, same as Haymon did in Quillin/Korobov
I dont know why this is so difficult to understand
It's not, it's just that you think she controls those things when its clearly HBO that does.
Kathy can't make a Kov fight without HBO's approval anymore than a Haymon managed fighter can. When Haymon exercises this control you call him the "defacto promoter" HBO exerts the exact same control when "approving" an opponent.
SO I'm confused how you see it differently.
At that time Kovalev was renegotiating a deal with HBO, she was trying to use the possibility of a Stevenson fight as leverage. She knew the Pascal fight was Kovalev's last fight on his HBO deal that's why she pushed the WBC to make it a mandatory. HBO had an option on Kovalev's next fight, Mohammad, and after that they could've fought Stevenson. Duva tries to make these power moves and they blow up in her face time after time. She's straight up lying when she says the fight didn't happen because Kovalev had an exclusive deal with HBO. He had no deal at that time.
And another thing. Stevenson had a clause in his Showtime contract that allowed him to face Kovalev on another network. Since Kovalev wasn't signed with HBO at the time the purse bid was called that could've been put into his new contract. Once again, WTF is Egis Klimas doing? His dealings with Main Events is benefiting Main Events not his fighters.
its painful to watch sometimes lol
HBO has an exclusive deal with Kov, they control who he fights, the city the fight takes place, and the venue in that city. A purse bid determines where an event is staged.
and NONE of that would prevent her from participating in the bid.
If she wins the bid, SHE decides date and venue, and does the fight on HBO
If she loses the bid, she says "uhmmm, no thanks" and walks away, same as Haymon did in Quillin/Korobov
I dont know why this is so difficult to understand
why would HBO give a sh*t if she participated in a purse bid? It doesnt have anything to do with them
If she wins the bid, she does the fight on HBO
If she loses the bid, she walks away
wait didn't they back out say that could not fight on any other channel but hbo
That still pisses me off. It's like she expected Stevenson to drop the belt and never wanted the fight to actually happen when she pushed for the purse bid.
Hilarious that she got caught with her pants down when Stevenson decided to call her bluff and move forward with the purse bid.
why would HBO give a sh*t if she participated in a purse bid? It doesnt have anything to do with them
If she wins the bid, she does the fight on HBO
If she loses the bid, she walks away
HBO has an exclusive deal with Kov, they control who he fights, the city the fight takes place, and the venue in that city. A purse bid determines where an event is staged.
HBO is building Kovalev-Ward now. Until that fight comes off or Stevenson drops Haymon, we can forget about that fight happening.
Nelson may be "open to a purse bid" but he and HBO will also be making offers to ensure Kovalev keeps fighting on their network. It would be a big investment loss to have Kovalev jump ship to PBC. So they will pay him the big bux and hope Haymon can't match what they have to offer long-term, which at the moment he can't.
Dude, she couldn't do that because HBO wouldn't allow her. her moves suggest she thought being the mando would force Stevenson to drop the belt, which is a foolish strategy.
why would HBO give a sh*t if she participated in a purse bid? It doesnt have anything to do with them
If she wins the bid, she does the fight on HBO
If she loses the bid, she walks away
I think HBO allows this fight to take place. Pointless rematches and huge mismatches are not going to grow Kov's brand.
Most people think Kov beats Stevenson (I don't) so the risk, on the surface, is minimal.
If Haymon affiliated promoters outbid HBO, Kov should man up and go fight, just like Wlad did when the Russians won the bid for the Povetkin fight.
i dont either......
This is correct^^
I think the biggest mistake Duva made was in not actually going through with the purse bid to see how it played out. She could have withdrawn after the fact if she lost the bid and couldnt work out a step-aside with HBO. She would have suffered no worse fate by pulling out AFTER the bid than she did by pulling out BEFORE it. Kov got removed as mandatory challenger. And thats the same thing that would have happened had she pulled out after the bid.
Dude, she couldn't do that because HBO wouldn't allow her. her moves suggest she thought being the mando would force Stevenson to drop the belt, which is a foolish strategy.
As much as I don't like Duva I have to set the record straight. She didn't push for the purse bid, Yvon Michael did. Duva pushed for the WBC to make Pascal/Kovalev winner the mandatory for Stevenson's belt, which they did. But in doing that she knew damn well a purse bid was a possibility. She should've known the purse bid was a greater possibility than negotiating a fight because of her previous dealings with GYM. She was using the possibility of a Kovalev/Stevenson as a negotiating tool with HBO.
This is correct^^
I think the biggest mistake Duva made was in not actually going through with the purse bid to see how it played out. She could have withdrawn after the fact if she lost the bid and couldnt work out a step-aside with HBO. She would have suffered no worse fate by pulling out AFTER the bid than she did by pulling out BEFORE it. Kov got removed as mandatory challenger. And thats the same thing that would have happened had she pulled out after the bid.
Why is that? Why do you think Stevenson will win?
I think he has the tools to beat Kov. He has great boxing ability combined with KO power. He can fight from a distance. He's very underrated, people tend to judge him based on his affiliation with Haymon.
Kov is no pushover and I am not suggesting it will be an easy win.